Savage Long Action Single Shot - Scope mounting troubles

Hello,
I have a single shot long action Savage I purchased some time ago with a 243 bull barrel. I recently re-barreled it in 6.5x55AI. I'm having some trouble finding a scope base that fits the action. Having bought two (Warne) of the Savage long action flat back bases that don't fit, I'm starting to wonder if the action is out of tolerance, or the bases just happen to be. The action S/N is 1084XX...which, I assume, puts in pre-1968, but I could be mistaken. I have read some post by other here that have rifles like this one...what I'd like to ask is if someone could share information on the scope base they used. These Warne bases both had the crosshairs lining up about 16moa low and 6-8moa to the right. The scope mount appears flush on the front round part of the action, but it is not sitting flush on the flat rear. The front is too low to align with the bore. I could shim the front, but with the rear already off the flat, I'd have to shim the rear even more. Any ideas/input from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

I've never had any problems using Evolution Gun Works (EGW) for all my builds. A 20 MOA EGW base may solve your problem with the rear of the mount hanging in the air. How does a straight edge look when lined up with the holes? Your holes may be drilled off center and would require plugging the old ones and drilling new. How did it perform with the original 243 barrel?

corleone000,

Sent you an email.

Could you elaborate a little on the, “they don’t fit”? Just curious if you could give a better description of what isn’t working/fitting.

I too had problems with the hole spacing/alignment on my 110 flatback. After setting it (receiver) up in the milling machine, the centerline of the holes was off approximately .015" and the hole spacing by about .040". I redrilled the holes for 8-40 screws. After redrilling the holes, I proceeded to bed the base (EGW) with JB Weld, because the rear receiver bridge was about .015"lower than the front ring, which also had a forward slope to it. After all was said and done, scope alignment was not a problem. Hope this helps.

Shouldn't there be a "F" prefix on that serial number? (I've got 4 of them and they all have the F prefix) Is there a chance you have one of the J actions? (are the screw holes 5 inches?) I can't believe the action is twisted with that solid bottom, but have you checked it? I have heard of your problem, but I have never had any trouble with the EGW one piece mount. I do use Burris Signature Z rings.

Bill